Conventional laser radar systems employ laser transmitters and optical receivers that collect back scattered light from targets illuminated by the laser beam. The back scattered light may be generated by Mie scattering or fluorescence from the target material, such as dust particles, molecular gases, and solid objects. Because the back scattered light intensity is typically many orders of magnitude weaker than the transmitted light intensity, it is customary to use a telescope with a large receiving aperture to detect the return signal with sufficient signal to noise ratio. Known large apertured telescopes utilized in laser radars typically comprise a single unit, which may be a single large mirror, or a set of reflectors such as a Cassegrain system. Telescopes of this type share many of the optical and mechanical characteristics of astronomical telescopes. They are very large, with substantial mass, and occupying large volumes. This makes them difficult to move rapidly, and therefore renders them useless on a scan platform. Telescopes of this type are also cumbersome, and subject to optical misalignment as a result of mechanical shock and vibration. Therefore, such telescopes are not well suited for mobile use, which comprises a large fraction of the applications for laser radar. Some examples of this type are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,054,364, 4,282,527, and 4,792,685.